


Latte Art Heart

by justlikeswitchblades



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Crushes, Eventual Happy Ending, First Kiss, Gen, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Rejection, Slow Build, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-29
Updated: 2014-12-29
Packaged: 2018-03-04 05:14:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2953673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justlikeswitchblades/pseuds/justlikeswitchblades
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kise liked to think he knew everything about his local coffee shop. He went there so often, it was essentially his home.</p><p>So, when Kise entered the shop at the beginning of the second-to-last semester of his senior year and spotted a blue-haired boy he had never seen before behind the counter, wearing the shop’s uniform of a black polo and a brown apron, he couldn’t be blamed for panicking a little internally. </p><p>Not many people are fans of having strangers in their homes, after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginning of the Semester (early September)

**Author's Note:**

> Gift for makoto-nau on tumblr for the KnB Secret Santa! Happy holidays!

Kise liked to think he knew everything about his local coffee shop. Its maroon walls had housed him almost daily for the past three years of college. He had sat not only at every table, but also on the two used couches they had up front, curling up with a book when he got sick of studying. One of the baristas there even had a dog, a small husky mix that would sit patiently on one of the shop’s couches, smiling happily whenever a customer entered the shop. He went there when Kasamatsu, the captain of the basketball team, would play guitar at weekly open mics held on the small stage in the back. He knew the managers by name. The shop catered to his morning espresso addiction, his midterm and finals week demands for possibly lethal amounts of caffeine, his casual afternoon cravings. It was his life.

It was his home.

So, when Kise entered the shop at the beginning of the second-to-last semester of his senior year and spotted a blue-haired boy he had never seen before behind the counter, wearing the shop’s uniform of a black polo and a brown apron, he couldn’t be blamed for panicking a little internally. 

Not many people are fans of having strangers in their homes, after all. 

Anger was one of the first emotions that flared up when he saw the boy. How dare he intrude upon what was essentially his sacred space? What gave him the right? 

He paused.

…Well, he supposed he probably needed the money. Kise himself had had a part-time gig with a modeling agency since high school to earn some cash of his own. Most people needed jobs to get by, so why should he take his anger out on some blue-haired kid who probably just wanted to live comfortably? He hoped he wasn’t _that_ selfish. 

Besides, he looked pretty harmless, and Kise was worried his mental health might get questioned by other customers if he stood in the doorway a moment longer. Exhaling a breath, he tugged at his tank top anxiously, and walked up to the counter.

“I didn’t realize the shop was hiring,” he managed smoothly with a smile, sending a quick prayer up to whatever god that allowed him to speak with an even voice. “Nice to meet you.”

The young man glanced up at Kise as he poured ice into a plastic cup, his brow wrinkling just slightly.

“We’re not. But it’s nice to see you, too, Kise-kun. I hope you had a nice summer.”

Kise blinked.

What.

The blond cocked his head “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“Well, we haven’t talked much, but I have worked here for the past three years. Though you usually seemed pretty busy with school and all, so I can’t say I’m hurt if you don’t remember me too well.” The boy’s voice was matter-of-fact, mild. He handed the iced coffee to a customer, then looked back at Kise. “It’s still pretty warm outside, so I’m guessing you’ll want a frappe, or something like that, right?”

Kise inhaled softly, unused to being stared at by such striking blue eyes.

“…Yeah, green tea, preferably.” He laughed awkwardly, running a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I can’t seem to remember you at all…” He glanced at the boy’s nametag. “Kuroko.”

Kuroko gave a small shrug of his shoulders, taking the credit card from Kise’s fingers and swiping it. 

“No worries. A lot of people have told me that I’m not very noticeable.”

Kise took his card back, scribbling his signature on the receipt. “That’s kind of…rude.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think they mean it that way. It’s an objective fact, after all.”

The blond opened his mouth, then closed it. It had taken him three years to properly notice the boy, so he supposed it wasn’t exactly his place to speak. A lull settled between the two as Kuroko made his drink, and Kise took out his phone, finding an app to occupy himself with in the minute or so of silence.

“Kise-kun.”

His head snapped up, and he met Kuroko’s eyes again. The barista had placed his drink on the counter. 

“Oh. Thanks.” He picked it up and turned around, walking past the dog napping on the couch that was soaking up what remained of summer in the September afternoon sun. 

The bells above the door tinkled as he exited, and he caught a glimpse of Kuroko through the window before continuing down the street. He kicked himself, regretting his manners, but that wasn’t his only concern.

How, oh, how had he let such a cute boy go unnoticed for so long?


	2. Midterms (early October)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kise curses once in this chapter, just so you know. Other than that, it's pretty innocent.

“What would you think of me if I asked for a pumpkin spice latte?”

Kuroko looked up at the blond, watching him adjust his beanie. He noticed that Kise had yet to dress down in public, clothed fashionably as ever in a collared pattern shirt, and likely comfy in the dark sweater he wore over it. His skinny jeans accentuated his long legs, his feet clad in a pair of short tan boots. 

He thought he was beautiful, but surely, anyone with eyes would also agree. It was no wonder that he noticed Kise first, compared to his plain self.

He was just a barista, after all.

“Well, it’s October, so it’s not out of the ordinary. Is it supposed to make me think of you any differently?”

And yet Kise had found himself daydreaming about Kuroko more and more often.

“Well, with Starbucks and all that…” Kise mused with a smile, handing his card to Kuroko. “It might.”

Kuroko tilted his head, weighing the statement in his mind. 

“I guess you could consider that.” He swiped the card, then pushed it back across the counter with a pen and Kise’s receipt. “But at the end of the day, coffee’s still coffee, no matter where you buy it from.” 

Kise signed the receipt. “I suppose that’s true.”

“I think making moral judgments based on someone’s drink choices is just a bit petty, at least for me.” Kuroko smiled slightly. “But if you want to talk about quality, I do think ours are much better.” He glanced at the bag on Kise’s shoulder. “For here?”

The blond grimaced. “Midterms.”

“Ooh, that’s rough. Good luck.”

Kise winked at the boy. “Thanks, Kurokocchi! I’ll need it.”

Kuroko frowned.

“Please don’t call me that.”

Kise paused by the couch on his way to an empty table, ruffling the dog’s fur as he wagged his tail happily.

“Hey, Kurokocchi. Has anyone ever told you that you and Nigou look kind of alike?”

Kuroko blinked. 

“Well, yeah. He is my dog, after all.”

\---

“Kise-kun, I’m gonna start closing up, okay?”

Kise lifted his head from his laptop with a groan, blinking, slowly becoming aware of the fact that he might have fallen asleep. In a coffee shop. While he was drinking coffee.

Fuck. 

“Nn…okay, Kurokocchi…” he managed, blinking harder to force himself awake. He sat up, looking around a little bewilderedly at the empty shop for a moment. He pressed the trackpad of his laptop, flinching a little at the brightness as he checked the time. 

It was midnight. 

That meant the shop had been officially closed for an hour and a half.

And _that_ meant Kuroko was a literal angel.

He closed the laptop and rose from his chair, stuffing the piece of technology into his bag and placing the chair on top of the table to match all the other upside down chairs in the shop. He slid his arms into his coat and lifted his backpack onto his shoulders, walking over to the door to wait for Kuroko to emerge from the back. The boy came out a few minutes later with his own coat on, Nigou following close behind.

“You have all your stuff?” 

Kise nodded. “Mmhm.”

Kuroko turned off the lights, and the boys and the dog stepped outside. Kise shivered a little in the autumn chill. 

“You could have woken me up earlier, Kurokocchi. I’m sorry you had to stay so late.”

Kuroko shook his head as he locked the door. “Don’t worry about it, Kise-kun. I like closing, and it gave me more time to relax before heading back home.” 

He turned to face him. “Just promise me you’ll go home and get some sleep, okay?”

Kise nodded a tired promise. “Planning on it.”

“Good.”

They turned their separate ways, Kuroko looking back every few seconds as Nigou padded along beside him, making sure Kise was awake enough to walk until he finally turned the corner at the end of the block, escaping his sight.


	3. A Question and a Muddled Answer (late October)

Kuroko was used to not being the center of attention. So when Kise walked in and playfully asked him to go on a date, he declined with a laugh, almost positive he was joking.

But he wasn’t quite sure how to respond when he watched the blond’s happy expression fall.

“Oh. I…I’m sorry, Kise-kun. I didn’t realize you were being serious.”

The boy raised his eyes from the floor, trying to hide some of his hurt. “Why would you think that?” His voice was soft, and sad, but even so, Kuroko felt as if the words were skewering him.

“Well, you flirt with me a lot, but you seem like the type who flirts with everyone, so…”

Kise bit his lip. “You’re not totally wrong, but…you were the only person that my flirting was genuine with.”

Kuroko winced. 

“…I’m sorry.”

The blond looked up again, a reluctant sparkle of hope in his eye. “Does knowing that I’m serious…change anything?”

Kuroko hesitated. He looked at the line of customers behind Kise, a few giving him impatient, angry looks.

“I’m sorry, Kise-kun. I need to deal with these customers right now, I can’t—”

The blond stood still for a moment, then let out a sharp breath as he grabbed his coffee, Kuroko trying not to watch as he hugged his peacoat close and whirled out the door into the late autumn cold.

_I’m sorry._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, rejected. Poor Kise.


	4. One Week Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko rejects Kise when he asks him out, but in truth, he's not heartless. He's just new to this kind of situation.

“What are you working on?”

Kise looked up from his laptop as Kuroko placed a full mug in front of him. 

“What’s it matter to you?” 

He spat the words out as he raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat warily at the coffee.

Kuroko smiled, glossing over the boy’s attitude. 

“Just curious.” He gestured at the drink. “And it looked like you needed another one, so that’s on me.”

He picked up the empty mug, took a step away, then hesitated, turning back to Kise and placing his hand on the chair across from him. 

“Can I sit here?”

“Don’t you have to get back to work?”

“I’m on break right now.”

“Sure. Go for it.” 

His words were clipped, tired. Kuroko sat down, his fingers wrapping around the empty mug, his eyes fixing on the stains of coffee and milk froth inside.

“About the other week, I…”

Kise closed his laptop. Kuroko glanced up hesitantly. The blond sighed, placing his chin in his hand.

“I’m upset, but I’m not so rude as to not talk to you face to face. Go on.”

“I don’t know if I can apologize enough for being so rude back then. I feel terrible about it. I really do, Kise-kun. Not many people have pursued my friendship seriously, and even fewer people have asked me out. For the most part, I’m okay with that. But, sometimes I get in the mindset that if such things ever do happen, people are just doing it as a joke. …I’m still really sorry, but I hope you can understand how I feel, too.”

Kise took a gulp of coffee, ruminating on the boy’s words. 

“…I guess I can see that, yeah.” He sighed, smiling a little sadly. “When I get infatuated with someone, I tend to build up whatever relationship we have into something much bigger than it actually is, so I’m not without my faults, either. Just thinking about what you told me makes me think that we might not be the best combination, Kurokocchi.”

Kuroko breathed out a soft laugh. “Yeah, maybe not…but even so, that doesn’t mean I want to push you away, Kise-kun. I serve plenty of people every day, and I have a number of regulars, but you talk to me the most, and I appreciate that. But we talk about the weather, coffee, my dog…I’m not the kind of person who can pursue a relationship on those things alone. So, if you don’t mind my asking…can you tell me more about yourself?”

Kise’s smile was a little more genuine now. “Of course, Kurokocchi. What would you like to know?”

“Well, I know you go to the school nearby, but not much else. I guess we could start from there. What’s your major? What do you want to do with your life? If you know, that is.”

Kuroko smiled as he watched the boy’s eyes brighten.

“Yeah, I do! I actually want to be an airline pilot, which might seem strange, but I’ve honestly wanted to be one since I was a kid, so I’m majoring in engineering—specifically aerospace—in hopes of getting there someday. I’d love to travel the world myself, but I really enjoy the idea of helping other people do so, too.”

He paused, taking a sip of coffee. 

“I could go on about that for hours, but what about you? I always figured you were around my age. Is it okay if I ask why you’re not in school?”

Kuroko nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine. I actually really want to go to school, but I wanted to see what the world was like first, I guess. So, after I graduated from high school, I got an apartment in the city and moved here, and was fortunate enough to be hired here. I’ve saved up a decent amount of money already, so I’ve been looking at schools I want to apply to next year. I’d love to be a kindergarten teacher someday.”

“Wow, that’s cool…I think you’d be good at that, Kurokocchi.”

“Yeah?”

Kise grinned. “If you can deal with someone as annoying as me, I’m sure you’d be able to work with little kids just fine.”

“Oh, you’re not that bad, Kise-kun.” Kuroko smiled. “But thank you for that, and for letting me talk with you as well. I’m glad I know a little more about you now.”

“Me too, Kurokocchi.”

Kuroko stood. “Well, I’ll let you get back to studying now. Thanks again, Kise-kun.”

“Of course. I needed that conversation, and the coffee, too. But, before you get back to work, can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“If you don’t mind sacrificing your break every once in a while, do you think we could talk like this more often?”

Kuroko wasn’t one for too much of an emotional display, but at the moment, his face lit up with a kind of smile that Kise had never seen on him before, a smile that cemented the fact that he would be crushing on him for a _very_ long time.

But he would gladly suffer through unrequited crush hell for that smile.

“I’d love that, Kise-kun. But, if it’s okay, I have one more question.”

“Go ahead, Kurokocchi.”

“…Why me? I’m sure you could date anyone in the world, and yet you ask me out. I’m flattered, don’t get me wrong, but…I’m just a barista.”

Kise smiled, reaching up to lightly touch Kuroko’s hand.

“You’re not just a barista, Kurokocchi. You’re _my_ barista.”


	5. End of the Semester (mid December)

The days where Kise didn’t visit the coffee shop had become increasingly rare, but when such days rolled around, Kuroko found his job to be incredibly boring. Time just seemed to move so slow without him around. He leaned against the counter, checking his watch with a bored sigh as it counted down the excruciatingly long minutes till closing. 

The bells above the door jingled as it opened, and both Kuroko and Nigou perked up, looking at the customer. A smile spread across Kuroko’s face.

“Good evening, Kise-kun.”

Kise cracked a grin, pulling his beanie from his head and shaking off the snow. 

“You two match. That’s too cute.” 

He stopped to greet Nigou, scratching his ears. 

“Shouldn’t the door be locked, Kurokocchi? You should be closed by now.”

“Well, to be honest, I was still hoping you would try to stop by, Kise-kun. Want the usual?”

“Mm, let’s change it up a bit. I’m in a holiday kind of mood—can I get the peppermint hot chocolate?”

“Of course. With whipped cream, too?”

“Sure, why not.” 

They exchanged his credit card and the receipt across the counter. “Sorry for taking so long today. I had one last exam to take care of, and then I had a shoot, and _then_ I had to get some Christmas presents…”

“But you’re here now.”

Kise smiled. “Right. I’m leaving on winter break tomorrow, and I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have time to stop in before then, so I’m glad I made it.”

Kuroko swallowed, feeling something sink inside him.

“Oh? I guess that means I won’t see you until January, then.”

“Yeah. I hope you don’t mind me going to other shops over break.”

Kuroko laughed softly, trying to fight off the doubts that wanted to sneak into his head. 

“I should be able to forgive you, don’t worry.”

“That’s a relief.” He walked over to the couch, set his bag down, and stripped off his coat, letting out a sigh as he sat down. “You can make it to go, Kurokocchi. Just let me sit down for a second.” 

Kuroko came over a few minutes later, placing a mug in his hands and sitting down across from him with one of his own. Kise blinked. 

“…Or, here’s okay, too.”

They sat in silence for a moment, sipping at their drinks. Slowly, Kuroko set his mug down.

“Kise-kun, can I talk to you about something?”

“Sure, Kurokocchi.”

“You mentioned shopping for Christmas presents earlier. I…kind of have a present for you. Well, technically it’s something you could give me, and it’s selfish, but…you can kiss me, if you’d like to. In fact, I’d really like it if you did.”

The blond gaped at him just slightly, taking a second to regain his composure. 

“Wow, that’s…certainly a request, Kurokocchi.”

“I’m sorry. You might have gotten over me by down, and if you have, I apologize for whatever awkwardness this may cause between us. But…I finally realized that I really like you, Kise-kun, and I’ll miss you when you’re gone.” 

He bit his lip, nervous.

“I just wanted you to know that.”

A grin spread across Kise’s face.

“Don’t worry about it, Kurokocchi, my feelings for you as still as strong as ever, especially now that we’ve gotten to know each other more.” 

He shook his head, wide-eyed for a moment. 

“Just…wow. Was not expecting that.”

Kuroko breathed a laugh. “I’m surprised that I was able to say it, Kise-kun, so you’re not alone there.”

Kise smiled. “I’m glad you did, Kurokocchi.”   
He paused. 

“…So, you want a kiss, huh?”

Kuroko nodded. “That’s right.”

“Maybe I’ll have to be selfish too, then—if I give you a kiss, will you go on a date with me?”

Kuroko showed a rare grin. 

“I can agree to that, Kise-kun.”

Kise grinned back.

“Fantastic.” 

He moved closer to Kuroko, lifting his hand to his cheek. 

“Have you ever kissed anyone before, Kurokocchi?” 

Kuroko shook his head no, his cheeks growing warmer under Kise’s touch.

“That’s fine. I hope I make a good impression.”

“I’m sure you will,” murmured Kuroko, closing his eyes as Kise leaned in. He kissed him slowly, softly, lips tasting faintly of the sweetness of the cocoa they had been drinking. Kuroko kissed back tentatively, pulling just centimeters away to break into a smile. 

“Thank you, Kise-kun.” 

Kise’s hand lingered on his cheek for a moment longer before dropping away. “No need to thank me, Kurokocchi.” He smiled before taking another swig from his mug. “I guess I’ll have to start planning that date now, huh?”

Kuroko grinned, letting out a laugh. He gazed fondly at the boy across from him.

“I’ll be looking forward to it, Kise-kun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so this little fic comes to a close. Hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for reading!


End file.
